Act I
It was a fairly average afternoon in Great Lakes City. Ronnie Anne and her friends were playing football in the park.
"Catch!" Ronnie Anne said as she kicked the ball across the field.
Nikki reached out and grabbed it. "Got it!" she replied.
Nikkie then used her size advantage to quickly run past the other team's defense, consisting of Casey, Sameer, and Laird. She then reached the designated goal area and slammed it on the ground.
"Touchdown!"
Ronnie Anne and Sid then celebrated their victory.
"Yes, girls win!" Sid said ecstatically.
"Aw, man. I thought we had it," Sameer said.
Suddenly, their fun little game was interrupted as a flashing white light appeared before them. The kids all closed their eyes and instinctively put their hands out in front of their faces.
"Ow, my retina!" Laird cried.
"What is that?" Sid asked.
The light then faded, and standing before the gang were three beings: a teenage girl and two larger parental figures. They each had their familiar colored auras surrounding them. Needless to say, the children were impressed.
"WOAH!" Sid, Laird, Nikki, Casey, and Sameer all uttered.
"Hi, Ronnie Anne."
"Punguari!" Ronnie Anne said excitedly as she ran over and hugged her Demigod friend.
"Long time no see," Punguari replied.
"Hey, guys! Remember when I went to Japunda and said I met a Demigod and fought a demon from the underworld?"
"Yeah?" Nikki asked.
"Wait, you weren't joking about that?" Laird questioned, still in disbelief that there were three Gods standing before him.
"Well, this is them. Meet Punguari."
"Hi there."
Punguari then extended her hand out and shook the hands of Ronnie Anne's friends.
"Wow, this is SO cool!" Sid said as she gushed.
"And these are my parents, Sisiki and Chipiri," Punguari said as she then directed their attention to her mother and father.
"Greetings, children," Chipiri said.
"So, what brings you guys here?" Ronnie Anne asked.
"What? Can't an Ancient Demigod just drop by to say hello to her first human friend in forever?" Punguari jokingly replied.
"Yes, and besides, we've all been gone for so long…" Sisiki mentioned.
"…so we thought it would be a good idea to catch up with humanity, and see how much things have changed in the last 800 years." Chipiri continued.
"Well, to be honest, quite a lot has happened in the last 800 years," Laird pointed out.
"Yeah, you guys might be in for a few surprises," Sid told them.
The three deities then looked around at the surrounding cityscape and realized what the kids were telling them.
"Wow, it really does look different. I mean, I thought Japunda looked a little different from what I remember, but this place looks like I've landed on an alien planet," Punguari remarked.
"That's because this is the big city. You didn't have these 800 years ago," Ronnie Anne explained.
"Sounds like we'll need a tour of this 'city' to find out more about it," Chipiri then suggested.
"Okay, that sounds cool. Although…" Ronnie Anne then awkwardly began to say.
"If you're going to walk around the city, you might want to get rid of those glows," Nikki claimed.
"Yeah, and you might want clothes that help you 'fit in', if you know what I mean," Sid suggested.
The three Gods looked at each other in mild confusion, before shrugging their shoulders and turning back to face the kids…
"Alright, we can handle that," Chipiri said.
The Gods then used their magic to instantly materialize new outfits on their bodies, while also losing their glowing auras.
Sisiki was now wearing a floral blouse, as well as a green skirt with a flower pattern. Chipiri was wearing an orange t-shirt with a sun design on it, and a pair of jean shorts. As for Punguari, instead of the outfit she had as "Shara" while in Japunda, this time she opted for sneakers, purple shorts, and a white tank top under a blue unzipped shirt. It looked more casual and fitted in nicely with Ronnie Anne and the other city kids.
"Ooh, digging the looks, guys," Ronnie Anne complimented.
"Just want to fit in around here," Punguari replied.
"And also, maybe we should use different names, since we're pretending to be human and all," Chipiri then suggested.
"Good idea. I'll be Shara, since that's the name I awkwardly came up with last time," Punguari said.
"And what about us?" Sisiki asked.
"Hmm… I was thinking maybe something like Chad and Suzie." Ronnie Anne then proposed to the elder Gods.
Chipiri and Sisiki looked at each other, a little weirded out to be appointed such "common" names.
"Chad and Suzie?" they both responded.
"I think the names suit you," Punguari light-heartedly teased her parents.
"Anyway, let's take a guided tour around Great Lakes City," Ronnie Anne enthusiastically told them.
And so, Ronnie Anne and Sid gave them the tour. They looked around at the metropolitan landscape in wonder, as well as shock. Chipiri and Punguari were amazed by their surroundings. Their eyes widened, and their mouths drooled a little with excitement. Meanwhile, Sisiki was handling her reaction a little more gracefully, though her mouth was still agape.
"I can't believe how much the world has changed since we were imprisoned inside Ucumu," Sisiki said.
"What is that thing?" Chipiri suddenly asked as he pointed at the hot dog vendor further down the street.
"Oh, that's just Bruno's hot dog vendor," Ronnie Anne replied casually.
"What's a hot dog?" Chipiri then asked.
Bruno then noticed the big man staring at his cart with excitement.
"Hey, you there. You look like a big, burly fellow. Would you like some fuel to keep yourself going for the day?"
Bruno handed one with some exotic spicy toppings over to Chipiri, who looked at it with intrigue.
"Ooh."
He then ate the hot dog, and his eyes watered with joy. For the kids, this was a mundane thing, but for him, it was a fresh, new experience for his taste buds.
"I could eat this for all eternity!" he shouted with extreme satisfaction.
"Hey, how come you're here, Bruno? Don't you normally work in the park?" Sid then mentioned.
"Gotta change the location sometimes if you wanna get new business," Bruno explained.
"Hey, could I get one?" Punguari then asked him.
"Hey, it's like I always say about eating hot dogs. Why have one when you can have two?"
After one bite, her face adopted the same expression of joy as her father's. She loved it.
"Wow, this is SO good!" she said as she walked over to Ronnie Anne.
"Glad you like it."
Sid then nudged Ronnie Anne in the shoulder and remarked, "Your friends are pretty funny."
Sisiki then said, "I guess I'll take one, too."
"Sure," Bruno said as he handed one over. "Oh, and that will be $12.50 for the three."
"Huh?" Chipiri muttered, his mouth still full.
"Hey, hot dogs ain't free, you know? Fork over the bucks."
"Bucks?" Sisiki questioned.
"Oh, right. They don't have any money," Ronnie Anne said, suddenly realizing that the Gods neither have cash nor are aware of the concept of paying for goods and services in society. "Here, I'll pay for their hot dogs," she said as she gave him a handful of green notes.
"I guess we should have thought of that when we agreed to give them a tour," Sid told her.
"Yeah. Still, Punguari helped me and my family defeat Ucumu and save the world. I don't mind splashing out a little on her family," Ronnie Anne replied.
"So, where next?" Sid asked.
"Hmm…"
Author's Footnote:
So, this is my first new "non-spec-script" story in quite a while. While this was an idea I had been thinking of doing for a while beforehand, credit to Zexoguy/Zexo87 must be given as he is the one who prompted me to finally write this story as he ordered it as a commission. I'm still thinking of possibly doing more story commissions (I'll make my final decision this weekend), and this one was basically a "trial" of sorts. He also provided me with some of the ideas, including a scene that will appear in Act 2 set in the hair salon. He is also the one who encouraged me to include a certain other one-shot character from "The Casagrandes" who will appear later in this story. You'll see what I mean when we get there.
Anyway, I'll likely upload the 2nd part tomorrow, and then the 3rd and final part the day after that. By then, Amanda's art commission based on this story should be finished, and then I'll also upload the full story on DeviantArt, too.